In its brief, brilliant two years of merrymaking, Friends Without Borders attracted attention far and wide. Our projects were covered in every significant newspaper in India and Pakistan, on every major television network, in the major news magazines, on radio, and of course on the web. But, as the project fades into the past, ripples in the media have been fewer and fewer. Sure, we were proud when the Times of India and the Jang Newspaper Group adopted our ideas to form their new Aman ki Asha project; but, as with most ideas lifted by the every-slimy TOI, this sincere form of flattery proceeded without attribution or notice.

But recently FWB received a bit of retrospective acclaim – and from a very unlikely source. To celebrate the 1000th post on the Pakistan Defense blog, which describes itself as the “Web’s Authoritative Source on Pakistani Security & Strategic Affairs”, the site cribbed photos and a bit of explanatory text about our “Love Letter” friendship project. Check it out.

And, after a brief celebration of peace, the blog resumed its bellicose themes. Crazy. But we’ll take it.

I am pleased to report that the 2007 incarnation of the Friends Without Borders travel squad has assembled and is raring to go. This year’s team includes John Siliphant, Yoo-Mi, Rahul Brown, Mona Panchal, Sachi Maniar, and me.

We are currently in Delhi awaiting word from the High Commission of Pakistan that Islamabad has cleared our visa requests. We hope to be soon on our way to Pakistan to deliver tens of thousands of friendship letters from Indian kids, to get letters to bring back to India, and to enroll schools for ongoing school-to-school relationships.

It’s a little awkward to get a byline on a story about one’s own project, but Friends Without Borders was asked by Asia Magazine to submit an article and we obliged. I wote the text and Maria Durana took and processed the photos. The article, which will span six-pages in “centerfold” format, to appear in the magazine’s March edition.

Asia Magazine does not publish online; but you can click on the image above (or here) for a reprint in PDF format.

This has been an exciting two-and-a-half months for the Friends Without Borders. As we make our final preparations to deliver the World’s Largest Love Letter and the first salvo of individual friendship letters from the children of India to the children of Pakistan, it is time to take stock of our achievements and look to the challenges and opportunities ahead.

For those of you living in India, be sure to check out the beautiful feature on the Friends Without Borders project in the March issue of India Today. For the rest of you: sorry, the India Today website does not give free access to this article. Our project is so cool, they are making online readers pay for the story!

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